FORT WORTH, Texas — The historic Cantina Cadillac bar in the Fort Worth Stockyards will eventually reopen, its owner says.
A fire Saturday damaged the popular watering hole on Exchange Avenue. No one was injured, but the 115-year-old Edelbrock Building's roof collapsed into its top floors.
"I thought it was going to be a total loss," Cantina Cadillac co-owner Jay Hester said. "But I think we can salvage it."
Investigators have not yet determined how the fire started. A Fort Worth Fire Department (FWFD) crew returning from a separate call spotted flames coming from the back of the building around 8 p.m. Saturday.
Hester said about 15 people evacuated the bar soon after the fire started. Their partly consumed drinks remained undisturbed Sunday, hours after firefighters finished their work.
Firefighters ensured the building was clear and increased the water pressure from their hoses, ultimately contributing to the roof's collapse.
A broken gas line fueled the flames, a department spokesperson said. The building burned for hours.
"We could not get that line shut off quick enough," FWFD spokesperson Craig Trojacek said Saturday. "Gas got into the structure and got more of the structure involved."
Atmos Energy did not respond to WFAA's questions Monday. It's not yet clear whether the gas shutoff had been recently inspected or if a similar problem could affect other historic buildings in the Stockyards.
Fire departments from Fort Worth, River Oak, Saginaw, Sansom Park and Lake Worth helped prevent flames from spreading to the buildings connected to the Cantina Cadillac. It took 15 fire engines, five chiefs, and seven aerial ladders to control the flames.
Crews navigated obstacles, including poor water supply and crowded parking lots, that hindered their efforts.
"There were also hundreds of onlookers crowding the streets during a robust Saturday night in the Stockyards," the department said in a news release.
The Edelbrock Building opened in 1908 as the Magnolia Furniture store, Fort Worth Stockyards museum director Teresa Burleson said.
"From there it became Miss Idalia Brown's boarding house, then it was a dry goods store, and in the 1930's the Stockman's Hotel occupied the upper floors," Burleson said.
Freemasons purchased the building in 1935 and converted the third floor into a Masonic Lodge hall while another furniture company operated from the lower floors.
Throughout it's history, people have always flocked to the building, Burleson said.
"It makes you a little sick," she added. "It needs to be restored."
On Sunday, Cantina Cadillac posted on social media with photos from inside the club after the fire.
Firefighters' water drenched old pictures and autographs hanging on the Cantina Cadillac's smoke-darkened walls, but the bottom-floor bar was mostly spared severe damage.
"I don't know how it survived as good as it did," Hester said. "I expected it to be a lot worse."
Hester said engineers will have to ensure the building is safe, but he intends to rebuild and reopen Cantina Cadillac.
"I don't know when, but we'll be back," he said. "It'll be just like it was."